ESPN Australia is celebrating its 30th birthday, and to mark the milestone we have ranked the 30 biggest sporting moments of the last three decades.
We have seen some incredible, dramatic, heartbreaking, heroic, tragic, controversial and exhilarating moments in sport since 1995 -- Aussie sport has really delivered it all. In July we picked 80 moments that define three decades and put them to a public vote. And thanks to your help we have been able to crown the No. 1.
So, what's the top Australian sporting moment of the last 30 years?
This is a three-part series with 10 moments featuring in each edition. Here are moments 20-11.
- The 30 biggest Aussie sporting moments of the last 30 years: 30-21
20. Sally Pearson dominates the field to win 2012 Olympic hurdles gold
The weight of a nation desperate for Olympic track success was dumped on the shoulders of Sally Pearson ahead of the 2012 Games in London.
Australia's superstar hurdler was the gold medal favourite in the 100m event, having won the race at both Commonwealth Games and world championship level over the previous 24 months. But not since Cathy Freeman in 2000 had Australia won gold on the track at the Olympics ... and Pearson was consistently reminded of it.
On race night, she coolly and confidently strode out to the lane seven starting blocks as rain began falling in the English capital. She took her place alongside American rivals Dawn Harper and Kellie Wells and fixed her eyes on the first obstacle in front of her.
Pearson's reaction time at the gun was flawless, as was Harper's. In the blink of an eye, the pair had established a slender margin over the field and could barely be separated as they hurtled down the straight. In unison, they dived for the line, neither sure who had just won the gold medal. Attention then turned to the stadium big screen, and after an anxious 30 second wait, the results flashed up for all to see. Gold for Pearson in an Olympic record 12.35s. Silver for Harper in 12.37s. Pearson dropped to her knees in sheer delight, having finally ended the nation's drought on the track. -- Jake Michaels
Andrew Gaze looks back on Sally Pearson's golden hurdles run at the London Olympics in 2012.
19. The Socceroos win 2015 Asian Cup in Sydney in a dramatic extra-time final
For decades, Australian football was an afterthought at home and abroad. Domestically, it was seen as a foreign game played by "Sheilas, Wogs, and Poofters," was dogged by incompetent administration, and cast in the long shadow of dominant local codes.
Globally, it was tucked away on the other side of the planet from football's European epicentre, consigned to the Oceanian Football Confederation and absent from the men's World Cup for 32 years. Australians were dismissed as not being as capable as those from "proper" footballing nations.
- Australia cap fine Asian Cup by beating South Korea in an epic final
But after qualification for the 2006 iteration was followed by appearances at the 2010 and 2014 men's World Cups, alongside a move to the Asian confederation in 2006, things (very slowly) were changing. The Matildas were crowned queens of Asia in 2010, Western Sydney had just won the Asian Champions League, and a fully professional A-League was at a genuine mainstream peak.
And then came the high: Ange Postecoglou guiding the Socceroos to continental glory on home soil, defeating Son Heung-Min and South Korea to cap off a tournament that captured hearts and imaginations as Asia came to Australia's door.
A long-term legacy, alas, has proven fleeting, but at that moment the world couldn't ignore the Socceroos and Australia felt like a footballing country. -- Joey Lynch
18. Ariarne Titmus beats the revered Katie Ledecky to win Tokyo Olympic gold
Whether your eyes were fixed on Ariarne Titmus powering home over the final 50m, her exuberant coach Dean Boxall shrieking in delight up in the Tokyo Aquatic Centre bleachers, or American icon Katie Ledecky putting in one final gut-busting effort down the stretch, the women's 400m freestyle final at the 2020 Olympics did NOT disappoint.
Titmus had spent the previous four years training with Boxall for one purpose: to upset Ledecky in the eight-lap race on the world's biggest sporting stage. This was the moment she had been waiting for, and the then 20-year-old from Tasmania marched out to the blocks without a skerrick of intimidation showing on her face.
For much of the race it was Ledecky at the head of the field, with Titmus stalking her from half a body length back. But with 100m to go, and the race there to be won, Titmus eased up alongside, then began putting daylight between herself and the all-time swimming great.
As the margin grew, so too did Boxall's excitement in the stands. He seemed to have some sort of out-of-body experience as he enthusiastically cheered his star pupil home, becoming an Olympic meme in seconds.
Titmus touched the wall in a time of 3:56.69 before triumphantly raising her right fist to the rafters as Ledecky leaned over the lane rope and offered her congratulations to the newest Olympic champion for prevailing in one of the all-time great Australia vs. America sporting battles. -- Jake Michaels
17. Lleyton Hewitt wins the 2002 Wimbledon men's singles title
It's incredibly difficult to remember a time in tennis before the Big Three era, but prior to the Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal trio dominating the sport, a brash, vocal youngster from South Australia was staking his claim as the best player on the planet.
In November 2001, three months after hoisting the US Open trophy, Lleyton Hewitt became tennis' youngest ever world No. 1. It was a season in which the then 20-year-old also won the ATP Finals and was named ATP player of the year.
But the crowning achievement of Hewitt's Hall of Fame career came the following season at the All England Club.
Sporting a backwards cap, sweatbands on both arms, and shouting his trademark "C'mon" with his fingers pointed toward his forehead at every opportunity, Hewitt overcame fierce rival David Nalbandian in a straight sets masterclass to win the Wimbledon championship. After winning the final point, he fell backwards onto the green turf and raised his fists to the sky in triumph.
It was an historic moment for Australia; the first time the nation had saluted in tennis' most prestigious competition since Pat Cash won the title in 1987. It would also be the last time until Ashleigh Barty broke the drought in 2021. -- Jake Michaels
16. Adam Scott breaks the Aussie hoodoo and wins the 2013 Masters
This is one of those "I remember where I was" moments. And for many, that will have been the office on an otherwise depressing Monday morning.
But there is nothing like the gentle acoustic and piano melody of the Masters music to ease a bad case of Monday-itis. On April 15, 2013 (April 14 in Augusta, Georgia), that melody took on whole new significance as the Australian sporting collective held its breath as Adam Scott chased history.
The final day had been as dramatic as it had been long. At one stage or another on Sunday, each of Scott and fellow Australians Marc Leishman and Jason Day looked like they might be the one to achieve one of the lasting Holy Grail achievements in Australian sport.
But when a slippery downhill birdie putt on the 72nd hole dropped in, Scott had secured himself at least a shot in a playoff, which then eventuated when former champion Angel Cabrera stuck his approach to two feet and rolled in the simplest of birdies.
Amid deteriorating light and persistent showers, the two men then took off down 10 on their first playoff hole. When Cabrera's birdie circled the hole, the stage was set for Scott to carve his name into golf, and Australian sports, history.
With the right read from caddie Steve Williams, Scott stroked his broomstick calmly, his Titleist dropping into the heart of the cup to complete an unforgettable moment at Augusta National and have thousands of Australians cheering in their lounge rooms, offices, and golf clubs back home.
A photograph of Leishman celebrating his playing partner's birdie on the 72nd hole, which has become one of the lasting images in Australian golf, typified just how much Scott's triumph meant to the country.
He remains the only Australian to own a famous green jacket. -- Sam Bruce
15. Harry Kewell's equaliser takes Australia to the 2006 FIFA World Cup knockout stage
To this day, one of the easiest ways to get a rise out of an Australian football fan is to mention Fabio Grosso and the penalty that allowed Italy to knock the Socceroos out of the 2006 men's World Cup. If you're Googling it with an Australian IP, "Fabio Grosso dive" is one of the first-suggested search results when you start searching his name.
Less spoken about is that Harry Kewell was almost certainly in an offside position before he scored the 79th-minute equaliser against Croatia in the Socceroos' final group game that helped them reach that fixture.
But when his goal delivered Australia its first-ever appearance in the knockout stages of a World Cup, with the controversy of Josip Šimunić's three yellow cards in the exchanges that followed, and it all happening against an opponent as intrinsically tied to Australian football as Croatia -- Socceroo starters Mark Viduka and Željko Kalac played at Melbourne and Sydney Croatia as youths, while the Croatian squad featured Geelong-born Joey Didulica and Canberran-born Šimunić -- and you can see why that gets overlooked.
After stunning the world in making the World Cup in the first place, Australia's 2-2 draw with Croatia ensured that Guus Hiddink's side would shock them once more. Australian football's wildest dreams were coming true. -- Joey Lynch
14. The Australian cricket team secure a 5-0 Ashes "revenge" in 2006-07
It was little consolation to the Australians that they'd been involved in arguably the greatest Test series of all time in 2005 when they relinquished the Ashes for the first time since 1989. What followed became a brutal experience for England.
It started with the very first ball at the Gabba when Steven Harmison sprayed the opening delivery of the series to second slip. At the close of the first day Australia were 346 for 3 and secured a crushing victory. However, in the second Test at Adelaide Oval, England dominated the first two days and though their total was matched a draw looked near-certain heading into the final day. Then came Shane Warne as the visitors froze like a deer in the headlights. From there, there was no way back for England.
In Perth, Adam Gilchrist flayed Australia's fastest Test century from 56 deliveries as the Ashes were regained. Melbourne brought Warne's iconic 700th Test wicket and a thrilling century from Andrew Symonds before Sydney marked the end of an era as Warne, Glenn McGrath and Justin Langer all retired in a blaze of 5-0 glory. -- Andrew McGlashan
13. The Mens 4x100m relay team take Sydney gold and "Smash the Guitars"
The only thing better than beating the Americans in the pool at the Olympic Games is beating them after they've just declared our national swimming icons have no hope of winning gold.
Before the men's 4x100m freestyle final, one of the most highly anticipated events of the entire Sydney Olympics, American Gary Hall Jr. claimed he and his highly credentialed squad from the United States would smash the Australians "like guitars".
But Hall's arrogant, cocky statement would end up aging like milk as the Australian quartet of Ian Thorpe, Michael Klim, Chris Fydler, and Ashley Callus produced one of the all-time great relay performances to break the world record in the event, win gold, and leave Hall and co. looking like total fools.
Klim expertly led the Australians off with a 48.18s split to break the at-the-time world record in the 100m, while Thorpe famously swam over the top of Hall, the 100m specialist, on the final lap to stop the clock in 3:13.67, just 0.19s ahead of their old rivals.
The Australians celebrated the first defeat of the Americans in the 4x100m relay by playing air guitars on the Sydney pool deck, a cheeky nod to Hall's pre-race comment. As iconic as it gets! -- Jake Michaels
12. Ian Thorpe wins Australia's first gold medal of Sydney 2000
This countdown has been filled with both inspirational underdog stories and riveting tales of redemption, but sometimes the athletes who are widely expected to succeed -- and do just that -- also become instant national heroes, leaving their mark in the most profound ways.
That was Ian Thorpe at Sydney 2000. There was no swimmer on the planet more hyped than 'Thorpedo' at the turn of the century, and nobody had come close to beating him over the 400m distance. Thorpe may have been a near unbackable favourite for gold in the eight-lap race, but the then 17-year-old Australian was still very much an unknown quantity at the Olympic Games.
An entire nation hopped up on anticipation eagerly tuned in on the night of Sept. 16, hopeful of witnessing Thorpe make history in his own backyard.
Sporting his iconic all-black body suit, Thorpe marched out to the blocks as cheers and whistles rained down upon him. The noise inside the Sydney International Aquatic Centre only amplified as he pulled clear of the pack over the first 100m, looking as comfortable as ever with those trademark smooth, elongated strokes.
Thorpe would stop the clock in 3:40.59 to slash 0.74s off his world record, crushing the opposition and winning his first Olympic gold medal in dominant fashion.
Remarkably, Thorpe returned to the pool an hour later to anchor Australia to glory over the United States in a memorable 100m relay, the second of what would be five Olympic gold medals he would achieve over the course of his illustrious swim career. -- Jake Michaels
The pressure of a home Olympics did nothing to slow down 17-year-old phenom Ian Thorpe at the 2000 Games in Sydney.
11. The death of Shane Warne
It was the early hours of the morning in Australia when news started to filter through that Shane Warne had died of a heart attack in Koh Samui, Thailand. Few deaths, across any walk of life, had impacted the nation like Warne's -- an indication of the place he continued to hold in the country's psyche.
The global grief, and not just from the cricket world, was immense as well for a player who had defined the sport. If Donald Bradman will forever be Australia's greatest, Warne can sit second -- and as a bowler it could be argued he was the most influential to have ever played, reviving and redefining the art of the leg side.
"Everyone wanted to become Warnie, or pick up some form of spin because of how much fun it was," Australia legspinner Alana King told ESPNcricinfo in 2023.
"When you can do stuff like that, be so crafty with the ball -- he made it fun again. Legspin was kind of losing its value in the game and all of a sudden Warnie comes into the game and you were like, 'Yeah, I want to be like him, that looks fun' and it's exactly the reason I picked up the art of legspin. And I think lots of leggies around the world have drawn inspiration from him."
He was afforded a State Memorial at his home ground, the MCG, which had witnessed famous moments of his career including the 1994-95 Ashes hat trick and his 700th Test wicket. During the memorial, the southern stand was renamed in Warne's honour.